Narratives of Care

Margarita Bermudez Ortega was fiercely independent. Well into her later years, she was still living alone in Puerto Rico, mowing her own lawn and deciding for herself what she could and could not do.

Then little things began happening that were harder for her family to explain.

In the first episode of Narratives of Care: Puerto Rico, Margarita’s daughters, Maria and Iris, and her son-in-law Julio look back at the period before anyone would have called what they were doing caregiving. When forgetting, accusations, arguments and increased checking-in slowly began changing the family’s relationship with Margarita.

As her family started organizing around her, Margarita’s home remained an important part of her independence. Then Hurricanes Irma and Maria brought another kind of disruption, forcing the family to confront a question that would follow them into the next stage of her care: What does it mean to get someone home when both the place they call home and their ability to live there are changing?

In this episode

* Margarita before care became part of the family’s everyday life

* The early changes her daughters struggled to understand

* How checking in, taking turns and stepping in gradually became caregiving

* The family network beginning to form around Margarita

* How Hurricanes Irma and Maria changed the decisions surrounding her home and independence

Featured voices (In order of appearance)

Iris Bayala — Margarita’s daughter

Maria Santos Bermudez — Margarita’s daughter

Julio Bayala — Iris’s husband and Margarita’s son-in-law

About this series

Narratives of Care: Puerto Rico is a narrative podcast series about what caregiving asks of families, what feels familiar wherever we live, and what changes because of the place where care happens.

Through the experiences of families caring for people with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and cancer, the series looks closely at the relationships, homes, healthcare systems, communities, and circumstances surrounding care in Puerto Rico.

The series is reported, written, and presented by Charlotte Bayala.

Links & resources

Narratives of Care

charlottebayala.com/narratives-of-care

Credits

Reported, written, and presented by Charlotte Bayala

Editing and production by Charlotte Bayala

Music and additional audio: Envato

Follow the series

Follow Narratives of Care in your podcast app to receive each new episode of Narratives of Care: Puerto Rico

Learn more about the series at charlottebayala.com/narratives-of-care.

Narratives of Care: Puerto Rico is part of Narratives of Care, created and presented by Charlotte Bayala.

Is caregiving the same everywhere?

When someone you love needs care, how much does where you live change what happens next?

Narratives of Care is a narrative podcast about caregiving, told by the people who have lived it. Each season explores how place, culture, family, community, history, and the systems around us shape the way care is experienced.

Hosted and produced by award-winning podcaster Charlotte Bayala, creator of The Cancer Caregiver Podcast and Caregiver Breathing Room.

Season One begins in Puerto Rico, where voices in English and Spanish tell stories of cancer and dementia caregiving on the island and what those experiences can reveal about the ways we care for one another.

Caregiving, told from the inside.

Follow Narratives of Care now so you don’t miss Season One.

Thank you to my tribe of supporters who listened to many early versions of this tralier and shared thoughtful feedback.